The Nightmare
by Elfpen
Summary: After his return from Skandia, Will suffers from nightmares. Halt consults his apprentice after one such nightmare.


Title: The Nightmare

Author: Elfpen

Summary: After his return from Skandia, Will suffers from nightmares. Halt consults his apprentice after one such nightmare.

* * *

Thunder rolled gently in the distance, and rain beat against the roof in a calm, thrumming rhythm. Occasionally, a distant flash of lightning would illuminate the cottage through the windows, sending bluish-white light dancing across the features of the ranger who was sitting calmly at the kitchen table.

Halt warmed his hands on the mug of coffee that he held in his hands. It was a chilly, rainy night, and so he kept himself warm in his cloak, even as he sat at the table. He'd awoken some hours ago, after a particularly loud crack of thunder shook the windows in his room with enough force to wake the ranger. Briefly, Halt wondered why his apprentice, Will, hadn't awoken as well, but he figured that, being a young teen-aged boy, Will would sleep soundly through practically anything. The ghost of a smile touched the ranger's lips at the thought.

Absent-mindedly, Halt fingered the silver oakleaf that hug at his neck. It was nice to have the silver weight resting against his chest again. Living nearly a year without its familiar presence had been unsettling. Many times more unsettling than that, however, was living nearly a year no knowing what had happened to Will.

Will. It was so good to have that boy back with him. Halt had given up his place in the Ranger Corps, he had traveled across land, sea, and ice, dealt with incompetent knights, malicious lords, surly Skandians, and had taken on an entire Temujai army, but it had all been worth it. Will was back, where he should be, in Redmount fief in Araluen, as Halt's Ranger Apprentice. It had been weeks since they had returned to Araluen, but Halt still relished the feeling of sheer relief that came with the knowledge that Will was safe and sound in the room just down the hall. Comforted with that thought, Halt sipped at his coffee contentedly and looked out the window into the mesmerizing daze of the rainstorm.

Breaking through the melodic reverie of the rainfall, a sharp gasp emanated from Will's bedroom. Immediately alert, Halt whipped his head towards the source of the sound and listened. He heard a heaving for breath, a soft moan, and what he could have sworn was whimpering. Now concerned for his apprentice, Halt rose, abandoning his coffee at the table, and strode silently towards Will's door. He tapped his knuckles softly against the wood door before letting himself in. Through the soft moonlight sifting in through the rain-misted window, Halt could see Will, sitting on the bed, bent over his lap with his head in his hands. The boy was shaking, and was breathing in irregular gasps. After a moment, Halt spoke.

"Will?" He called quietly, his voice breaking through the calm in the room.

Will, who obviously hadn't heard Halt enter the room, started with surprise and looked up.

"Halt." He said, startled. "I-I didn't mean to wake you. I'm sorry." He managed in a small voice.

Halt ignored the unneeded apology. "Are you alright, Will?" He asked gently.

"I'm fine." Will answered, a little too quickly. He looked back down at his lap. "It was just a dream." He said. The last statement Will said as much to himself as he did to Halt. But Halt saw through the false claim, to what was really there. What he saw was a shaking, sweaty, scared boy who was trying to disguise the terrified, confused emotions left behind by a nightmare that was probably a little more than frightening.

"Nightmare?" Halt asked.

Hesitantly, Will nodded, not looking at the other ranger.

Wordlessly, Halt stepped into the room, and slowly went to sit down beside Will on his bed. He placed a solid hand on the boy's back, square between his shoulder blades. Will glanced sidelong at him, lucid fear still apparent in his eyes. A brief pause passed where neither spoke, but then Halt spoke.

"You know," He started, his voice much softer than normal, "Sometimes, talking about it helps."

Will tilted his head ever so slightly towards the ranger to acknowledge the prompt, but he said nothing. Another brief silence hung in the air before Halt spoke again.

"Was it about Skandia?" Halt asked, even softer, this time.

Still shaking, Will nodded. Halt nodded sadly as his suspicions were confirmed. Then, after just a small pause, Halt did something that Will had never known him to do. He hugged him. It was nothing extraordinary, just a simple wrapping of the arms around the boy's shoulders, but the comfort and reassurance that Will felt from it was profound. Driven by fear, horror, and a few emotions that Will hadn't yet identified, the boy buried his face in the shoulder of the other ranger to hide his tears. Halt didn't draw back, but simply patted the boy's shoulder comfortingly. He didn't say anything, didn't make any further motion. His face was as expressionless as ever, but his whole demeanor held a more gentle, caring, father-like undertone to it that Will had only glimpsed on brief occasions. To know that his respected mentor and master wasn't ashamed of his apprentice shedding tears over a mere nightmare was a comforting thought for Will. The boy still shook some, but the tremors were subsiding little by little in Halt's embrace.

Halt for his part, simply held the boy while he cried quietly, giving him silent comfort and reassurance. Halt was no stranger to nightmares, nor did he find the boy's tears shameful. Halt knew all too well the strong, confusing swirl of emotions that he knew Will was dealing with now. And he knew better than to talk at that moment. Will needed time to process his thoughts, his emotions. Nightmares were uncomfortable, terrifying, profound things. Halt knew that Will would speak when he was ready, and no sooner. Halt wouldn't push him any further than he wanted to go. Until then, he would simply let the boy know that he was there. Halt closed his eyes, and made a slight movement to rest his grizzly cheek against the boy's head at his shoulder, and settled his arms a little tighter around his apprentice while he patiently waited for the boy to speak in his own time.

It was a long time before Will spoke, but eventually, the boy pulled slightly away from Halt's shoulder so that he could speak. He sniffled.

"I... I dreamed that I was back in Skandia. In the hunting cabin in the woods." He started. Halt drew back from the boy a bit so that he could look at him as he spoke. "I had just woken up," Will continued, "From... The warmweed." he said, ashamed. "But Evanlyn wasn't there. She was gone. I went looking for her, following her trail through the woods. But I couldn't seem to track her. I couldn't see straight, couldn't think. I couldn't move fast enough. When I finally caught up to her, the Temujai had already taken her. She was in bad shape. I tried to shoot at the Temujai with the hunting bow, but it failed. I went at them with a small dagger, but I couldn't fight them. One of them shot Evanlyn in the shoulder. Then Horace appeared, and defeated all of them. Tug was with him. Horace went straight to Evanlyn and tried to help her, but..." Will was almost afraid to say the next part out loud, fearing that it would be to morbid to say that in his dream, the Princess of Araluen had died. Halt simply looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "She... It was too late." Will said quietly. "And then he looked to me. He asked me what I'd done. Told me that I had gotten Evanlyn killed. That if I hadn't gotten addicted to that blasted weed, she'd have still been alive. If I hadn't gotten addicted to that stupid drug, that we would have been able to escape back to Araluen." Will's lip quivered against his will as he remembered the normally cheerful face of his best friend, Horace, stern and hostile, yelling harshly at him.

"Then I asked him where you where." Will continued, looking up at Halt for a split second when he said the word 'you'. "He... He said..." Will's chin quivered harder, and tears burned at his eyes. He was on the brink of crying as he said, "He said that you'd stayed back in Araluen. Said that you thought I was dead... That you would have preferred I was dead, had you known what had happened, What I'd done." Tears were streaming down his face freely now, but Will continued to speak. "Then Horace picked up Evanlyn, and rode away from me on Kicker. Tug was there in front of me, and I called him, but he didn't come. He just looked at me, as if he didn't know me, didn't want me. Then, out of no where, a Temujai warrior was running towards me with a sword. I looked to Tug, but he turned and ran away from me. When I looked back to the Temujai, he had his sword raised, and he was just about to-" Will's train of speech broke off suddenly. There was a pause, and then he concluded, "And then I woke up." The boy looked down at his hands in his lap, shaking again, his cheeks shining in the dim light from tears.

"Will, you know that Horace would never talk to you or abandon you like that." Halt said gently, after a moment or two.

Will nodded quietly.

"And you know that Evanlyn didn't die."

Another nod.

"And that you're safe, back in Araluen."

He nodded again, but his eyes didn't hold any real recognition or understanding.. Only fear. Real, genuine fear. Terror. Shame.

"Will, Look at me." Halt prompted. His deep voice was calm, but had a commanding tone to it. Will, noticing the tone, obediently looked up into the deep eyes of his master.

"Will, I want you to know one thing, above anything else, and I want you to never forget it as long as you live." Halt said in an authoritative way. Will looked at him, wide eyes fixated on the ranger. Halt leaned in ever so slightly towards Will, not breaking eye contact with the boy.

"I swear to you, Will, that as long as I live on this earth, I will never, _ever, _leave you for dead. And I most _certainly _will not prefer you to be dead. I do not care how old you get, I do not care how old _I _get, but I promise you, Will, that wherever you are, wherever you go, no matter how far or near, or on whatever terms we might be, whether in this land or another, whether I am well or sick, whether in good times, bad times, or anytime in between, Will, I will _always _come looking for you when you need me, and I will _never _give up my search until I find you." Halt's eyes locked on Will's with a steely, determined gaze. "Don't you _ever _think otherwise." He concluded.

Halt's little speech was heartfelt and emotional, something that Will had hardly ever seen from the man. The boy gulped. The reality and sincerity of Halt's promise broke through the fears left by the nightmare, and Will found himself drowning in relief as all his doubts were cast aside. Relieved tears washed down his face. Without invitation this time, Will threw his arms around Halt's middle, and buried his face in the ranger's shoulder. Halt, normally abhorrent of such affection, returned the gesture with a calm, quiet embrace.

They stayed that way for some time, with Will hugging his mentor's waist, and Halt holding the shaken boy. But soon, after what could have been hours, Halt felt Will's arms grow limp, and heard the boy's even breathing. Gently, Halt lowered the now sleeping boy back down to his bed. His cheeks were raw and tear-stained, but the tears were nothing to be ashamed of, Halt thought, as he watched his sleeping apprentice. Nightmares were rightfully terrifying. They seemed to root themselves deep in the fears and doubts of the person, conscious or subconscious, and bring them out to full light to wreak havoc on the emotions. Every man, great and small, had suffered from them at one time or another. Ranger's and their apprentices were no exception. Musing over these thoughts, The ranger glanced out the window. The storm had subsided a good deal. The thunder was barely audible, and the rain had diminished to a small trickle. The moon seemed to shine brighter than it had during the storm. With one last look at his apprentice, Halt rose from the bed and exited the room. He shut the door silently behind him before heading to his own room.

As Will's mentor, he was called upon to take up many roles. Sometimes, he was his teacher, sometimes his master. Sometimes, he was his advisor. But sometimes, Halt knew, Will needed the care of a father, and the reassurance of a protector.

And he was more than happy to supply them wholeheartedly.


End file.
